Not too long ago, if your home didn’t have ductwork, you were pretty much limited to heating your home with a boiler. But with the advent of new technology and products, homeowners have multiple choices for heating their homes, whether the homes have ductwork or not. Today we’re going to look at two systems that can heat your home without the benefit of ductwork: boilers and ductless mini splits. Each system has its own benefits, but knowing how each works can help you decide which one will be a better fit for your home.
Ductless mini split systems have two main units: the outdoor unit, which contains the compressor and condenser, and the indoor blower. A single outdoor unit can support up to 4 indoor blowers. The indoor blowers are equipped with coils, a fan and a filter, and are connected to the outdoor unit via a conduit drilled into an exterior wall. The conduit holds the condensate drain pipe, a power cord and the refrigerant line. The way a ductless system can both heat and cool your home is by utilizing heat pump technology. Heat pumps are equipped with a component called a reversing valve that can change the directional flow of the refrigerant. This change allows the heat pump to provide both heating and cooling. Heat pumps do not use any fossil fuels and a small amount of electricity, making them very energy efficient.
Boilers heat your home using hot water or steam. The system generates the hot water or steam by combustion. The 2 most commonly-used fuel types with a boiler are natural gas and oil, but propane and solid fuels can also be used. Boilers heat the water in a vessel; when the water reaches the correct temperature, it is pushed through a system of pipes by circulating pumps (steam flows under its own pressure). Boilers can use radiators, baseboard heating or hydronic radiant floor heating to heat your home. Today’s boilers are quite energy efficient and provide very comfortable heating.
Which Is Best for You?
The answer to this question lay in large part with your needs. Working with a trained professional, like the ones at Fort Collins Heating & Air Conditioning, can help ensure you choose a system that is good for you and your home for years to come.
If you are ready to discover what a new heating system can do for your home in Fort Collins, contact us today.